What could have been
by Tietableguy
Summary: A Oneshot. Tell me what you think!Ok maybe not a oneshot.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Disney does.

5 years after the events of Homecoming:

"My name is Will "Goodnight" Stronghold. You may better know me as "Captain Goodnight", Heir to the Commander, but thats not really why I'm telling you this story. I chose the name Captain Goodnight after one notable Save the Citizen episode where, after I knocked out Larry aka "Rock Boy" after he was being particularly odious, I said "Goodnight, Gracie" after landing the final punch.

After Homecoming, me and Layla began going out. We went out for approximately 2 years, when we decided that we would be better off as just friends. Eventually she dated Warren for a time, but the constraints of his Superhero work eventually drove them apart as well. I didn't truly care; both of them were happy, and I wasn't lonely, as I never lacked for female company after I shot up to 6'3" tall in between junior and senior years.

After Graduation, I plunged into superhero work, while Layla drifted off for 6 months, saying she needed to "find herself". Which is why she ended up on a Greenpeace boat, and without thinking, found herself sinking a Whaling boat with tons of kelp from the ocean floor. She turned herself in, and only got 5 years and never being able to use her powers again.

One day, when i was going to visit her, I saw... HER. She was still young, only 23 biological years old, and prison had been surprisingly good for her. Her lustrous Chestnut hair hung in a wave down her back, and she wasn't so skinny as before, revealing a figure worthy of Marilyn Monroe. What was more surprising was that I had my heart in my throat, my pulse was racing, and I almost broke the bracelet that neutralized my powers (So I wouldn't break Layla or anyone out) with my hands clenching (I told the warden and he got the bracelets reinforced).

After that, I went to visit her too, and it followed a typical procession: at first furious, then seductively trying to worm her way inside (how hard it was to resist!), resignation, then friendly, then almost oppressively eager for my visits (solitary will do that to you). Each time as I left her to go back to my own life, and leave her to the clear plastic walls of her cell, my tears would come, and i'd say the words: "If only you had been real, Gwen."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews. I decided I had more to tell, so no longer is this a one shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Disney does.

Will here, again. I had to say more, to tell more, to explain more.

After the Homecoming incident, I went to talk to my dad about how Sky High was back when he and Sue Tenney walked the halls. He was really no help, too wrapped up in being the BMOC he was. If he had looked he would have felt guilty, but introspection was not one of Steve Stronghold's strong suits. So I went to see my mom.

My mom, who had done a lot of soul-searching over the years, gave me the blunt truth. "Will, the sidekicks then were even more marginalized than they are now. The harrassment was much worse, and the neglect was worse. I remember seeing rats, of all things! being carried out of the sidekicks rooms. And Sue, what we did to Sue was much worse. Sue wasn't allowed to use her powers, the Coach called them a crutch. And there was this guy, you know him as King Mambo now, who used to pick her for "Save the Citizen" all the time as his partner so he could shine and get the glory. The humiliation was crushing in hindsight. I thought I came to terms with it long ago, but it really was horrible. Maybe if we hadn't picked on her so hard, she wouldn't be in jail now."

With that, I went to her trial, secret though it was, and spoke up for her. I explained how Sky High had been, and how it had systematically crushed her spirit. I explained that maybe, with some good therapy, she might actually recover her zest for a normal life, and be a contributing member of society.

Then, 5 years later I saw her again. And I visited her faithfully every week for 15 years. I watched her destroy her cell with her rage, coyly try to get me to bust her out, try to ignore me, then look forward to my visits. I could visibly SEE the therapy working on her. I remember the first time she burst into genuine tears when i came with flowers for her. And so, when she came up for probation (unlike Baron Battle, her crime was still only attempted murder, not the multiple people he murdered plus the prison needed the space), I again went to speak up for her. I spoke of her changes, the re-awakening of her core being and then the therapist spoke up, confirming my words. Which is why, I stand here now, soggy flowers in hand from the rain, and smile beautifically as she walks out of the prison gates. Sure she's on life time parole, but hey, she's free.

One year after her release from prison, we started dating. Two years to the day after, our marriage, and our daughter was born 9 months after that. She never relapsed, and if her temper was short every once in a while, who's wasn't?


End file.
